10/05/2010
Dar es Salaam, (The Observer) -- There were snap calls for Africa’s youth to embrace hope ahead of doubt, and have the self-belief that only they can shape their destiny, as the World Economic Forum on Africa came to an end in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The calls were provoked by a need for a change in Africa’s growth strategy, the theme of the three-day conference.

A press statement from the forum notes that “To end the continent’s marginalization, Africans must believe in themselves” and, quoting Jacob Zuma, South Africa’s President, “be the change they want to see.”

To those who still have doubts about Africa, Zuma said that proof of the continent’s potential will be unveiled when the football World Cup tournament – one of the most watched competitions – kicks off in a month’s time in South Africa.

“There were a lot of doubts and scepticism. But people who come to Africa will see that we are not just bushes and mountains. They will see how Africa is ready to do anything that can be done anywhere else in the world.”

Africa will field six countries in the 32-nation football showpiece, all with the potential of beating the mighty countries from the West. But when it comes to matters Economics, Africa remains on the periphery.

Africa accounts for 3.5% of global exports despite the fact that it possesses immense resources, and Foreign Direct Investment into the continent remains a trickle, 0.96%, regardless of the fact that the bloc offers one of the highest returns on investment.

Jakaya Kikwete, Tanzania’s President, tried to offer an explanation for this discrepancy. “Africa remains predominantly a primary producer and importer for industrial use. We produce what we don’t consume and we consume what we don’t produce,” he said. “This cannot continue.”

Solutions to this dilemma seem to be placed around the youth, who constitute 60% of the African population.

“Let’s take a bunch of young people and put their minds on fire. You should believe in the demographics [of Africa], make your human capital capable and entrepreneurship will happen,” said Ajai Chowdhry, the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, HCL Infosystems.

Anna Tibaijuka, the UN Under Secretary General and Executive Director, United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), could not have agreed more.

“There is a role to be played by everyone. But we cannot afford to have more than half our population underutilized and 60% of young people left behind,” she said.

Directing this youthful energy and strategies could work best in the agricultural sector, the bread winner for more than half of African households. “All of us have to accept and understand that farming is business,” said Joergen Ole Haslestad, President and Chief Executive Officer, Yara International, Norway.

The conference also called for a cleanup in the continent’s volatile politics, which stifles efforts in attracting foreign investors. At least 14 general or presidential elections are to take place on the continent this year, the focus of the highly critical Western media.

The conference noted that democracy boosts economic development and reduces poverty.